Although the incidence of and mortality after ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is decreasing, time trends in anatomical location of STEMI and associated short-term prognosis have not been examined in a population-based community study. We determined 22-year trends in age- and race-adjusted gender-specific incidences and 28-day case fatality of hospitalized STEMI by anatomic infarct location among a stratified random sample of 35- to 74-year-old residents of 4 communities in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study. STEMI infarct location was assessed by 12-lead electrocardiograms from the hospital record and was coded as anterior, inferior, lateral, and multilocation STEMIs using the Minnesota code. From 1987 to 2008, a total of 4,845 patients had an incident STEMI; 37.2% were inferior STEMI, 32.8% were anterior, 16.8% occurred in multiple infarct locations, and 13.2% were lateral STEMI. For inferior, anterior, and lateral STEMIs in both men and women, significant decreases were observed in the age-adjusted annual incidence and the associated 28-day case fatality. In contrast, for STEMI in multiple infarct locations, neither the annual incidence nor the 28-day case fatality changed over time. The age- and race-adjusted annual incidence and associated 28-day case fatality of STEMI in anterior, inferior, and lateral infarct locations decreased during 22 years of surveillance; however, no decrease was observed for STEMI in multiple infarct locations. In conclusion, our findings suggest that there is room for improvement in the care of patients with multilocation STEMI.
Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.